I have come upon
The Cumaean caveTouched its fluted walls
Cast my future
In the fallen leaves
And heard the Sybil's call
The leaves are scattered
On the wind
None collected
Never read
Taunted by the gods
To hang between
A half life and the dead
No golden bough
Or silver coin
To bear me from this land
Here is the living Sybil's curse
Each year a grain of sand
Still within the rustled leaves
Echoes year by year
Her enigmatic verses call
And croakingly we hear
I have come upon
The Cumaean cave
Heard the children's cry
"Sybil, Sybil
What d’you wish?"
"I wish to die."
JL 11 Oct 2011
The oracle of the Sybil at Cumae
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